काउंटरव्यू

By NS Venkataraman*  When Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel that resulted in the killing of more than one thousand innocent Israel citizens, the world opinion was largely  sympathetic to Israel and unequivocally condemned attack by Hamas.

By Anup Sinha*  The upcoming national election is now a hot topic in Bangladesh. There is no end to people's enthusiasm around the upcoming 12th National Assembly elections which is scheduled to held on January 7, 2024. Out of the 44 parties registered in the Election Commission, 27 parties are participating in the elections this time. The participation of 27 parties actually implies a participatory, competitive and contested election. 

By Harasankar Adhikari  Politics is certainly an important and significant determinant of the socio-economic status of a nation as well as its population, particularly in a democratic nation. There has been a long-standing political history in Bengal since the colonial period. Its contributions to a nation’s development are to glorify the nation. Social, economic, educational, and political reforms in India were started in Bengal by a group of eminent thinkers and intellects. Bengal has taken the most glorified part in freeing India from colonial rule.

By Harsh Thakor*  WG Grace was the pioneer in giving the game of cricket its form and defined a new epoch or era in sport. None contributed as much in the evolution of the game. Rarely has any sportsman and no cricketer ever as much ruled or governed the course of the game or exuded as towering a presence.

Clockwise: Martin Luther King, John F Kennedy, Mujibur Rahman, Patrice Lumumba, Salvador Allende By Bharat Dogra   Which world leader faced the most attempts on his life or other attempts to injure and harm him? The answer to this question is very clear—Fidel Castro, President of Cuba. There were so many attempts made to kill or harm him that he and his security personnel must have lost count (in addition there were attempts also to kill or harm Raul Castro).

By Harsh Thakor*  Javier Milei is the new president of Argentina. For the first time a far-right candidate comes to power. His capturing power is victory for neo-fascism nationally and internationally and illustrates how bourgeois parliamentary capitalist democracies, sow the seeds for its germinating. It manifests the escalation of the far right trend or waving of the neo-fascist banner on a global scale, springing from the unparalleled economic crisis.

By Bharat Dogra  Europe started the first two world wars and played a key role in them, even though the extensive distress caused by them spilled over, directly and indirectly, to the greater part of the world. Now Europe can more than make up for this by playing perhaps the most important role in preventing the third one.

By Rachel I Dsilva*  Anti-conversion legislations in India have been enacted in several states, including Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh. BJP led governments has done this citing the issue of fraudulent mass conversions to Islam and Christianity. 

By Harasankar Adhikari  According to dictionary meaning, ‘secular’ means worldly, not spiritual, and not concerned with religion. Therefore, ‘Secularism’ means the theory or doctrine that supports worldly affairs and is not spiritual or concerned with religion. Further, 'religion is an aspect of the human world by which human beings can connect with the eternal world. Religion is a path for attainment of 'moksha' or salvation.' Swami Vivekananda viewed that secularism means ‘to provide equal status to all religions, and all-embracing love for every human being is again established.’ It is very relevant and appropriate.  Dr. S. Radhakrishnan opined, “When India is said to be a secular state, it does not mean that we reject the reality of an unseen spirit, the relevance of religion to life, or that we exalt irreligion. It does not mean that secularism itself becomes a positive religion or that the state assumes divine prerogatives. We hold that no one religion should be g

By Harasankar Adhikari  Bengali society is usually stratified and multilayered because of social, economic, and cultural factors. Politically conscious involvement of Bengalis stratifies its society differently, although the sensitivity of Bengalis is high in politics. Especially, democratic decentralization of power has been coping at Bengal first. Initially, the long time left rule (party-based) was advantageous. Various social movements, reforms, and reconstructions were witnessed by Bengalis through their active participation. 

By Harsh Thakor*  This year the International Communist Movement commemorated the 75th anniversary of the 2 line struggle undertaken by the CPSU led by Stalin against Yugoslavian Communist Party, led by Marshal Tito, and for the first time USSR making a clear distinction, between the people’s democracies and Socialist States under Georgi Dmitrov. Both had historical connotations with respect to the ‘dictatorship of the Proletariat.’

By Bharat Dogra  With increasing realization that the earth’s basic life-nurturing conditions are threatened by man-made factors, the world has responded in a number of ways ranging from climate change commitments to treaties to reduce weapons of mass destruction. While each and every sincere effort should be welcomed and appreciated, there is clearly need for a frank evaluation of where we have reached so far despite the undoubted value of each and every sincere effort, no matter how small, that has been made.

By Susan Lal Thomas*  Dr S Faizi, eminent ecologist and UN Environmental Negotiator, has been selected as Review Editor of the seventh edition of the Global Environment Outlook (GEO-7) being produced by the United Nations Environment Program. The GEO assesses the state and direction of the planet's environment, especially in relation to the Agenda 21 adopted by the UN Conference on Environment (Earth Summit), and is produced every four years since 1997. GEO guides in international environmental policy decisions and national level policy reforms and actions. The team of authors is comprised of experts nominated by governments and other stakeholders, and their work has already commenced. Review Editor's role is to review the different generations of texts as they are developed. The GEO 7 process is Co-Chaired by a committee of four, including Dr Robert Watson who had shared the Nobel Peace Prize 2007, nominated by UK. GEO 7 is expected to be released in the first half of 2025.

By Dr. Dhiman Debsarma*  Informal Medical Practitioners (IHP) are the major providers of primary healthcare services to millions of people in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). They are popularly known by several names, such as Rural Unqualified Health Practitioners (RUHPs), often called informal healthcare providers, unlicensed providers, non‐formal providers, unqualified practitioners, village doctors, and quacks across various developing countries.

By Sanjay Dave  'Mari Patang Mari Dheel’ was a transformative initiative to empower girls from Patadi and Mahisagar districts of Gujarat – centred around the themes of body, autonomy, expression, choice and desire intersected with their participation in the digital world. The initiative aimed at creating a celebratory spirit by engaging and inspiring young girls through experiential activities and perspective-building sessions. The goal was to create a safe and supportive environment where girls could explore their identities, gain a sense of agency, and develop a deeper understanding of critical issues related to their well-being and rights.

By Sakshi Giri  TeamLease Services, India's leading staffing conglomerate revolutionizing employment, employability, and ease of doing business, has unveiled its highly anticipated 'TeamLease's Employment Outlook Report' for the second half of the fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to March 2024). 

By Rachel Irene D’Silva  Human Rights are universal, to live free and in equality and dignity is right of all persons, all over and all times. Freedom of Religion is given to all persons living in India. People have the right to religious and non- religious belief, manifest and practice religion. The Freedom of Religion safeguards against discrimination or coercion by State and non- state actors. Rohingyas are the world’s most persecuted minority. Their religious affiliation is basically belonging to Muslims. In order to grapple with the context of Freedom of Religion and Belief the situation of human rights for Rohingyas must be seen as a cause for their displacement and migration to other countries. Soon after the military crackdown on Rohingyas in 2017, millions of them were forced to flee at once and become refugees. Kan Kya was one of the 400 villages destroyed by the Myanmar military in 2017 as per Human Rights Watch according to analyzed satellite images. Says the religious lead

By Jiten Yumnam, Beverly Longid*  Our right to self-determination is a tenet of our basic rights and fundamental freedoms as Indigenous Peoples. It reclaims the power to determine our future, self-govern, and manage our lands, waters, and resources. It includes deciding for and protecting our political, economic, social, and cultural life without foreign or outside imposition. For two weeks the world’s most powerful men, world leaders have gathered at the UNFCCC COP28 to meet and discuss ways towards mitigating the effects of the global climate crisis. In the past negotiations of the previous years we have seen how grassroots organizations have been sidelined in the decision making. Even in spaces supposedly provided for civil-society, our calls and demands have been repressed with certain “regulations” that in reality attempt to kick our calls into the shadows.  While continuously being sidelined, we assert in upholding our stand. We hold that our right to self-determination means rec

By Bharat Dogra  Economic and social inequalities have historically been a very important aspect of injustice, but in addition these have also resulted in some other important distortions which are not so well recognized. At a certain level of utilization of resources, these resulted in the privileged people grabbing a big share to create a life of excess comfort, luxury and property for themselves which unfortunately became a source of attraction for others. Hence what was actually non-viable and wasteful in ecological terms became the desirable norm in unequal societies.

By Bharat Dogra Can a year which experienced such terrible although entirely avoidable violence and conflict still end on a note of peace and hope? Yes, it can if the remaining few days can be used for a significant peace initiative to take place around Christmas or the arrival of the New Year.

By Harsh Thakor  Clara Zetkin’s name has carved a permanent niche in the annals of the history of working women’s liberation. A remarkable document “Struggle against fascism”, was presented 100 years ago on 20 June 1923 by Clara Zetkin, manifested the essence of Marxist analysis and gave the cutting edge to Leninism. It uncovered aspects like the social democratic view of fascism, the social roots of fascism, failure of proletarian leadership, fascism’s ‘mass character', the bourgeoisie and fascism, rise of fascism in Italy and Germany and the workers’ self-defence and the United Front. No person in that time formulated such an incisive, theoretically sound or lucid analysis.

By Akanksha Singh* UNICEF and its global partnerships platform Generation Unlimited (also known as YuWaah in India) have partnered with key organizations committed to working towards a green future for children and young people as a part of the Green Rising India Alliance (GRIA). The alliance consists of YuWaah at UNICEF, Capgemini, Children's Investment Fund Foundation, Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, ReNew Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation and SAP. The GRIA aims to equip 50 million children and young people to become climate conscious, adaptable, and resilient by 2030.

By Harsh Thakor*  On the 6th of December the Finnish bourgeoisie celebrated the independence day of Finland. In general, the atmosphere of the day is heavily anti-communist. During the recent decades, it has become a routine practice of the fascists and nationalists to organize marches in the capital city, and each year, in retaliation, there are anti-fascist counter-demonstrations. 

Ensure strict implementation of the POSH Act in all institutions including the judicial institutions: CITU statement *** The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and its women’s sub-committee, the All India Coordination Committee of Working Women (AICCWW-CITU) express their anguish at the shocking revelation of a civil judge from Banda, Uttar Pradesh, about the sexual harassment and torture she has undergone to the extent making her seeking permission to end her life.

By Bharat Dogra  Accidents are one of the biggest causes of human distress. In any single year, about 3.5 million persons are likely to die because of accidents. However it is the number of injuries and disabilities resulting from all accidents (including road, workplace, domestic and other accidents) which is truly staggering—about 600 million in a year (including about 395 million injuries caused in workplace accidents alone, according to ILO data).

By Harasankar Adhikari  West Bengal is in turmoil. It is evident that the ruling TMC-led government is inundated with an extreme level of corruption, and all of these are under investigation. Is the administration not collapsing because of political party-dominated, authoritative rule? The government of West Bengal is deliberately misusing the administration for highly corrupted parry workers. Some of the important state cabinet ministers are in jail. The ruling party has no regret and no effort to rectify it, while it expenses a huge amount of revenue to protect the culprits (party leaders). It plays a game of judiciary juggling from lower courts to the honorable Supreme Court of India only to establish it as a political revenge of the BJP-led government of India.

By Harsh Thakor*  This year we commemorated the 80 th anniversary of the Battle of Kursk (5-16 July 1943). Its climax, the Battle of Prokhorovka (12 July), was possibly “one of the fiercest tank battles in military history.” The Battle was a turning point – a Soviet victory which ended the Wehrmacht’s ability to wage offensive war in the East. Soviet forces thwarted a huge Nazi counter-attack, after Adolf Hitler's troops had suffered a colossal defeat at Stalingrad in the winter of 1942-43.Kursk gave a final death blow to the fascists, being the most decisive battle of the 2nd world war.

By Bharat Dogra  Many people see accidents mainly in terms of road accidents. While this is a factually incorrect notion, unfortunately this also gets reflected even at research and policy levels. Any random research on accidents is likely to give results which are heavily biased in favour of road accidents only.

By Harsh Thakor*  On November 30th we commemorated the 40th death anniversary of the late West Indies maestro George Headley,who was responsible for placing West Indies on the map of the cricketing world. Few in sport ever more symbolised the lone crusader championing causes. Headley set the benchmark or planted the breeding ground for all future Caribbean batting giants. Headley's achievement touches heights or reached a pinnacle,  rarely surpassed in sport,  for the fact that climbed up the ladder  to the top in Jamaica of the 1920's which was then, a colony, where the spirit of nationalism had yet to manifest, and where a business class to sponsor any social activity on a national scale was yet to develop. Headley belonged to a race that withstood the Atlantic slave trade and plantations slavery, only to face the continued subjugation by a white minority in post-emancipation Jamaica.  George Headley was born in Panama a year later, a product of West Indian parent

By Bharat Dogra  Road accidents kill 1.3 million people in a year in the world. While this is a shockingly big loss in itself, the overall burden for society is much higher at several levels, particularly in terms of serious injuries which apart from being very painful can also disrupt the life of a very large number of families.

By Harsh Thakor*  The genocidal attack by the State of Israel and imperialism, mainly Yankee, against the Palestinian people, has escalated at an untold scale. Just between the 6th and the 7th of December , 350 Palestinian people were killed. These figures are escalating while the struggle for Gaza City and Khan Yunis is increasing. The Health Ministry of Gaza stated the 7th of December at 16:00 GMT , that the death-toll was 17,.177 people murdered and more than 46.000 injured due to the Israeli attacks. Last week the bombings against the Jhabalia camp refugee have been intensified, and it is being constantly attacked with hundreds of dead people every day. This is a clear example of war crime and of bombing civilian areas, attacking on daily basis areas with dense population in which most of the murdered people are unarmed women and children. Also numerous studies, including from imperialist media, have proved that most of the territory of Gaza has been damaged due to the bombings.

International Aluminium Institute (IAI)  note announcing their initiative for the aluminium industry on the  new greenhouse gas: *** The International Aluminium Institute (IAI) has launched a new initiative that commits to transparently and publicly track ambition and progress in greenhouse gas reduction of all its member companies.  This initiative, which is being launched at the United Nations’ Climate Change Conference (COP 28) in Dubai, has already been backed by major aluminium producers as the sector continues to act on reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.

By Beverly Longid, Jiten Yumnam*  On the 26th anniversary of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord, the International Indigenous Peoples’ Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL) reaffirms solidarity with the Jumma people and their continuing struggle to enjoy their right to land, culture and self-determination.

By Harasankar Adhikari  Swami Vivekananda opined that religion is the driving force of an individual, society, and nation. Religion is an institutional discipline that binds a society with some definite rules of disciplined life for better social, economic, and cultural practice. It usually determines the progress and development of its believers. Different racial or religious groups have their own rituals or practices, and these are surely relevant for a better society.

By April M. Short* Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip—which began following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023—has led to mass civilian deaths including those of more than 6,000 children as of November, with “ damning evidence of war crimes ,” according to Amnesty International. On November 16, UN experts warned of genocidal violence on the part of Israel in the Gaza Strip. On December 6, the UN secretary-general invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter citing a “severe risk of collapse of the humanitarian system in Gaza.”

By Harsh Thakor*  Murderous State’s drone attack killed at least 88 persons in Tudun Biri village, Kaduna, Nigeria,on December 5th. At least 88 people have been killed in a mistaken army drone attack” on a religious gathering, the Mawlid al-Nabi (the birthday of Prophet Muhammad), in the northwest of Nigeria. This ruthless attack is part of a series of cynically so-called mistakes” in the war of the Nigerian regime against the people.

  By Julia Hovenier, Helen Burley*  A global group of 67 organisations led by BankTrack and Reclaim Finance is calling on 50 of the world’s largest banks to end all financial support for new metallurgical coal production and expansion. Metallurgical coal  represents 14%  of the world’s coal. Unlike thermal coal, it is predominately used for steelmaking and is refined into coke, a material combined with iron ore in a blast furnace to produce primary steel [1].

New report on ADNOC’s partners in climate chaos: Banks and fossil fuel majors A new report on the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) highlights its outsized oil & gas expansion *** A new report on the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) highlights its outsized oil & gas expansion and the international financiers and oil majors who actively support it.

Kyndryl in collaboration with Microsoft has released the findings of The Global Sustainability Barometer study. The study, conducted by Ecosystm, finds that while 85% of organizations place a high strategic level of importance on achieving their sustainability goals, only 16% have integrated sustainability into their strategies and data. A Kyndryl note: *** Kyndryl (NYSE: KD), the world’s largest IT infrastructure services provider, in collaboration with Microsoft , today released the findings of The Global Sustainability Barometer study. The study, conducted by Ecosystm , finds that while 85% of organizations place a high strategic level of importance on achieving their sustainability goals, only 16% have integrated sustainability into their strategies and data.

By NSVenkataraman*  An appeal to the Prime Minister to honour Rajaji on his forthcoming birth anniversary on 10th December:  In the month of December, it is time to remember Sri. C. Rajagopalachari ( Rajaji) , who was born on 10 December 1878 and passed away on 25 December, 1972. Rajaji, the first Governor General of independent India, was hailed by Mahatma Gandhi as his conscience keeper. Rajaji was an intellectual par excellence and, could think far ahead of his time and was an unbending fighter for the cause dear to his heart. He wrote and spoke with high level of depth, clarity and understanding on multiple Indian and international subjects including politics, economics, nuclear disarmament, religion, social welfare and so on.

By Vijay Prashad*  On December 3, 2023, a large number of registered voters in Venezuela voted in a referendum over the Essequibo region that is disputed with neighboring Guyana. Nearly all those who voted answered yes to the five questions. These questions asked the Venezuelan people to affirm the sovereignty of their country over Essequibo. “Today,” said Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, “there are no winners or losers.” The only winner, he said, is Venezuela’s sovereignty. The principal loser, Maduro said, is ExxonMobil.

By Bharat Dogra  Recent reports of the International Labor Organization have confirmed the urgency of according higher priority of issues relating to safety of workers. These statistics tell us that nearly 3 million workers die in a year due to occupational diseases and injuries. This implies that about 8000 workers die on any typical day due to occupational risk factors (including occupational disease and injuries).

By Harsh Thakor* Late Martin Crowe was the perfect manifestation of how mere figures could not convey or do justice to the true merit of a batsman. Crowe was arguably the most complete  or majestic batsmen of his era or the ultimate embodiment of batting perfection, or the classical batsmen. He perished 7 years ago, due to a rare and aggressive form of cancer, follicular lymphoma, which originated in 2012. In September, we celebrated his 60th birthday but sadly he left for his heavenly abode.

A note on report by Forests & Finance coalition -- Rainforest Action Network, TuK Indonesia, Profundo, Amazon Watch, Repórter Brasil, BankTrack, Sahabat Alam Malaysia and Friends of the Earth US: *** A new report released on ‘Finance Day’ at COP28 by the Forests & Finance Coalition , provides a comprehensive look into the role big finance plays in driving deforestation, biodiversity loss, climate change and human rights abuses in tropical forest regions. The report reveals that since the Paris Agreement, banks have pumped over $307 billion into high risk forestry and agriculture companies linked to tropical deforestation, proving that the policies of major global banks and investors are failing to prevent continued widespread forest and biodiversity loss.

By Gazala Paul*   In the heart of Chhattisgarh, amidst the echoes of tribal life, a transformative journey has unfolded over the past eight years. The Samerth organization has diligently worked to elevate the lives of indigenous communities in the Kawardha district through the project, "Enabling Baiga Community to access safe drinking water." 

By Harsh Thakor*  The Zionist leadership and Netanyahu’s government were compelled to concede the defeat of their first attempt after almost 50 days of daily fighting in the Gaza Strip.  Netanyahu was forced to concede that he was unsuccessful in suppressing the Palestinian Resistance; and that the release of the prisoners was only plausible because they accepted Hamas’ terms.

By Sanaton Laishram*  The Affected Citizens of Teesta, Sikkim, Centre for Research and Advocacy, Manipur and the Borok Peoples Human Rights Organization, Tripura organized the North East India meet on Free Flowing Rivers, held at Gangtok, Sikkim from the 29th till the 30th November 2023.

Statement by the Global Secretariat of the International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation: *** Representatives from various indigenous groups and environmental organizations convened in Gangtok, Sikkim, for the North East India Meet on Free Flowing Rivers. The gathering, hosted by the Affected Citizens of Teesta, Centre for Research and Advocacy (Manipur), and the Borok Peoples Human Rights Organization, concluded with a significant resolution aimed at safeguarding the region’s rivers and biodiversity. The Teesta Declaration outlined pressing concerns regarding the construction of large dams in the region, highlighting the environmental, social, and climatic impacts. Participants vehemently opposed the continuation of projects such as the 1200 MW Teesta III dam in Sikkim and urged for its decommissioning, citing the catastrophic burst of the dam on October 4, 2023, which resulted in the loss of lives and extensive property damage. The resolution of the

By Sudhansu R Das  Over decades, Odisha has lost much of its crop diversity, fertile agriculture land, water bodies, employment potential, handicraft and handloom skills etc. The state has failed to strike a balance between the urban and rural sector growth; this leads to the migration of villagers to the urban areas leading to collapse of the urban infrastructures and an acute labor shortage in rural areas.  A large number of educated, skilled and unskilled Odia people have migrated to other states for higher education, quality jobs and for earning livelihood which plummet the efficiency level of government departments. Utmost transparency in the recruitment and promotion in the state government departments will improve governance mechanisms in the state.  "No near and dear one approach" in governance mechanisms can only achieve inclusive growth for the state on payment basis. This is a moral hazard. When so many educated young people seek employment outside the